Life after service: Veterans discuss challenges of leaving military
Leaving active military service represents a seismic shift in life, even for those who have a head start.
“My transition actually started about 16 years ago, right after the invasion of Iraq,” retired Army Lt. Col. Laurence Christian said.
That’s when he met a civil affairs specialist whose civilian job was in city management.
“After a few weeks and months of him enlightening me, I’m like, that’s my next job, right there,” Christian explained.
In May, he was hired as Bethel Park’s municipal manager, three months after his final day in the Army.
“It was like the world came crashing down. You’re no longer who you thought you were, so you kind of have to reinvent yourself,” he said. “It was a very difficult time for me, but I focused on what I wanted to do now, and that helped out quite a bit.
Christian was part of a three-person panel discussing “Challenges Faced By the Military Upon Leaving Service,” the featured presentation Nov. 8 during Bethel Park Chamber of Commerce’s Salute to Veterans Luncheon.
Joining him at the Bethel Park Community Center were two Navy veterans, state Sen. Pam Iovino, D-Mt. Lebanon, and state Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Upper St. Clair.
“I’m still not really a civilian in my brain, although I keep trying to work on that on a daily basis,” said Christian, who enlisted after graduating from high school. “But after almost a quarter century in uniform, it’s kind of hard to just immediately transition from soldier one day to a civilian the next.”
He cited statistics that indicate the difficulties other U.S. military veterans face: an average of 20-plus suicides per day, and more than 40,000 homeless on any given day. Along with his Bethel Park duties, he is working on ways to help make the transition to civilian life a smoother one, and he encourages others to do what they can, as well.
Iovino agreed.
“It’s not about asking them about their experience. In their good time, they may or may not share that with you,” she said. “What’s more important, in my opinion, is that we embrace that man or woman leaving active duty and bring them back into the fold of our communities.”
She joined the Navy, she said, to gain leadership and management experience, and to further her education, as she eventually earned a master’s degree.
“I came out of the service with 23 years of a great résumé having been built, a master’s degree thanks to the Navy, with no medical issues. I came out whole and unharmed. And it was still difficult,” Iovino said about retiring. “When you get that DD 214, those discharge papers, there are a lot of things that are coming to an end, besides your employment and your paycheck.”
For Mihalek, her decision to join the Navy right out of high school had its genesis when she was in sixth grade and her teacher was called to active duty in Kuwait as part of the Operation Desert Shield defense against Iraq.
“By sheer coincidence, a Kuwaiti family had moved to the area just a few weeks after his departure,” she said, and one of the children was placed in her homeroom, “telling stories about how her family had escaped Kuwait. And thinking about how our teacher going over to help families like hers, it just made an impact on my life.”
Mihalek served for two years and then attended the University of Pittsburgh, not dwelling much on her time in the Navy.
“I wasn’t ashamed of my service, but I did my time. I was done, and I just wanted to be a regular college student,” she said.
“It’s only been in the last few years that I’ve really gone to different veterans’ events and became part of different veterans’ organizations, and sort of unburied that experience. And it’s been really therapeutic for me. Being out and connecting with other veterans and other female veterans has really been something that’s a long time coming and helped me grow as a person.”
Also during the Salute a Veteran Lunch, Bethel Park Mayor Jack Allen, who also serves as commander of American Legion Post 760, read a proclamation to honor veterans locally Nov. 11.